Types of needs in psychology according to Maslow, origin with examples

Need (in psychology) represents a state of an individual in which he needs something that lies outside him and constitutes a necessary condition for his normal functioning. There are several types that are classified according to various parameters.

By origin

Types of needs in psychology are classified by origin. The main criterion is the nature of the activity, which prompts the subject to perform this or that action.

Natural

Natural needs are called those that are due to human nature. Organic needs depend on the conditions of a person, which force him to preserve and maintain life.

Among the natural needs are:

• food;
• water;
• oxygen;
• procreation;
• self-preservation.

These examples do not depend on the conditions in which the person is, they are constant and ubiquitous.

Cultural

Cultural are those needs that are due to the social nature of a person.

There are several levels of social needs:

Level	Description	Example
First	Includes the most general range of interests and cultural needs.	Needs for education, culture or other cultures of work.
Second	The second level reveals the needs in a particular area in a little more detail.	For example, needs for music, cinema, theater.
The third	Based on individual cultural needs. At this level, the need for a certain genre is revealed.	The need for cinema is revealed more clearly: for example, comedy films, melodramas, documentaries.
Fourth	This level does not show the need for a certain genre, but the need for a service.	The need for the service of ballet theaters.

This multi-level structure contributes to the identification of the cultural needs of the population and further satisfaction.

On the subject of need

A need is a state of a person's need for something. Classify needs by subject.

Material

Material needs are needs that satisfy the need for something materially.

This type of needs includes:

• housing;
• clothes;
• food;
• money.

You can also characterize material needs as the consumer's desire to purchase any product or service that he needs for his continued existence.

Spiritual

Spiritual needs are characterized as a person's desire to create and master spiritual values.

Components of spiritual needs:

1. The need for culture, science, religion.
2. The need for novelty. This characteristic determines the degree of development of the cognitive need for the acquisition of new knowledge.
3. The need to overcome determines the ability to overcome obstacles to gain new knowledge, to develop intellectual or creative abilities.
4. The need for information allows you to maintain an already developed level of thought and the progress of individual systems of sensitivity.

Spiritual needs determine the level of a person's self-development.

Social

Social needs represent the need of a person for what is a product of the activities of society.

Human social needs can be divided into several groups:

Group	Description
Need for recognition	The need for a person to meet with friends, as well as to determine his own place in society.
Need for stimulation	Control over human activity, stimulation of activity, as well as raising the emotional tone.
The need for events	It manifests itself in receiving pleasure (or, conversely, dissatisfaction) from events that affect the course of life.
The need to structure life	Represents the need for time planning. A striking example is the distribution of working time, the distribution of rest and work.
The need for achievement and recognition	It manifests itself in obtaining new experiences, respect and self-esteem of a person.

Social needs support the vital activity of a social person.

By the criterion of the update time

The types of needs in psychology depend on the time of actualization. Actualization determines the importance of something at the moment.

Permanent

Constant needs represent an ongoing need for something.

The most prominent examples of persistent needs are:

• maintaining a constant body temperature;
• oxygen demand;
• the need to maintain a certain air humidity.

These needs are mainly based on the physiological needs of the body and needs to maintain normal life.

Sustainable

Sustainable needs are mainly related to the social needs of a person. Such needs affect the life of a person, therefore they are stably satisfied, but life without them is possible. The most striking example of such a need is the need to communicate with a representative of the same kind.

Cyclic

Cyclic needs represent a person's need for something with a certain period. For example, the need for food. After 4-6 hours, a person feels hunger - this is the cycle of this need.

Situational

Situational are those needs that depend on a particular event in life. For example, the need for recovery. In this case, a disease is a circumstance in this situation.

Maslow pyramid

Abraham Maslow is an American psychologist and also the founder of humanistic psychology. Humanistic psychology is one of the directions in Western psychology, which recognizes the main subject of personality as an individual system.

According to Maslow's theory, the types of needs in psychology can be divided into 7 levels. To understand this theory in more detail, it is necessary to visualize such a structure.

Physiological

The physiological level, according to Maslow's theory, is what connects a person's life with his sociality.

This level is characterized by the following examples:

• maintaining physical and mental well-being;
• the normal duration of sleep should be about 7 hours a day, and this also requires compliance with the following conditions: bed, blanket;
• breathing requires fresh and clean air;
• in order to replenish the necessary reserves in the body, a person needs to absorb food, therefore nutritional processes are important;
• people need clothing to protect themselves from adverse weather conditions.

Physiological needs are one of the strongest groups of human needs. Also, biological needs are a basic and valuable group, which is why it is the "base" of Maslow's pyramid.

In safety

The need for security is the need for a person to feel protected, as well as comfort for himself and his loved ones. The need for safety manifests itself after all physiological needs have been satisfied.

The most striking examples:

• obtaining insurance for property and health:
• the possibility of obtaining social guarantees at work;
• in children - the appearance of anxiety in the absence of a mother, since they lose their maternal protection;
• protecting your own home is manifested in providing heat, closing the door with a lock.

The need for security manifests itself in freedom from fear and anxiety. Also in the necessary stability and protection, structure and order.

Social

Social needs represent a person's need for work, spiritual culture, leisure and socio-economic activity.

What are the social needs of a person:

• inclusion in family life;
• the need for positive feedback;
• the need for new acquaintances and keeping in touch with relatives, friends;
• participation in mass meetings, attending various events;
• the need to visit friends.

Social needs are the third step, so their satisfaction is possible in cases where physiological needs and the need for safety are met.

Prestigious

The need for high appreciation and respect in society, as well as a certain opinion about a person.

Examples that are most typical for this level:

• winning the competition;
• obtaining any qualification, title or status in society;
• the need for a personal blog;
• desire to enter the professional rating.

Meeting the needs of this level reminds of the desire to be important to society, as well as to receive a kind of calling.

Creative

The creative level includes the need to create new values ​​(material and spiritual). Creative needs are characterized as the highest form of personality activity, which requires careful preparation.

There are the following needs specific to this level:

• the need for education;
• participation in various seminars and symposia;
• gaining new knowledge by taking courses.

Cognitive needs can be briefly characterized by 4 verbs: know, be able, explore, understand.

Aesthetic

The aesthetic level allows a person to come to harmony and joy by considering art and beauty.

Aesthetic needs can be:

• visiting theaters, exhibitions and concerts;
• hobby for collections, creation of herbariums;
• creating coziness in the house, decorating the apartment with objects of art, created by oneself.

Aesthetic needs represent a person's interest in values ​​(of aesthetic nature) and various forms of creative activity. The most typical hobby for this level is passion for the arts. NS

Spiritual

The spiritual level is the highest degree of needs for proportional human development.

Spiritual needs include:

• implementation of plans and desires;
• finding your own path;
• determining one's own opinion about the meaning of certain things and phenomena in life.

Spiritual needs are human needs that are met last. The need for this level is satisfied in cases where the needs of other levels are at least relatively satisfied.

By field of activity

The types of needs in psychology depend on the field of activity. The field of activity is the direction of labor activity, which solves some processes and tasks, as well as the direction to certain results.

Communicative

Communication needs are those human needs that are associated with the provision of information necessary for the implementation of a particular activity.

Communication needs include:

• emotional contact;
• study of the environment;
• satisfaction of the meaning of life.

This type of needs prompts to enter into verbal communication to find solutions to verbal and non-verbal problems.

Professional

Professional needs are a list of those needs that are required by a particular employee.

For example, the needs of the teacher include:

• the need for sociophilia (to meet the needs of the pupil);
• regular professional development;
• teaching basic computer skills.

Needs change depending on the profession.

Upon the appearance

The types of needs in psychology can be classified according to their appearance. Some of the needs appear in a person immediately, so they are basic. Others are in the process of active life, therefore they are considered acquired.

Basic

Basic human needs are those that are associated with physical survival. Basic needs are also inherent in all people without exception, even if he does not feel them.

There are 9 needs of this type:

• warmly;
• protection;
• food;
• safety;
• close people;
• belonging to a certain group;
• incentives;
• respect and self-respect;
• spiritual development.

Basic needs, regardless of the research of psychologists, are considered the most important and necessary.

Acquired

There is also a group of acquired needs. They are also called “secondary” needs, which are psychological in nature.

Acquired needs include:

• achievement;
• power;
• devotion.

Secondary needs are acquired with experience.

The theory of E. Fromm

Erich Fromm is a sociologist, philosopher and social psychologist from Germany. The humanistic theory of personality is the most important work of an outstanding psychologist, in which he examines human behavior under the influence of cultures, reveals the needs of society.

In communication

Psychological needs are human needs that depend on environmental factors and personal development. One of these types of needs is the need for communication.

Erich Fromm believed that every person has an inherent need to overcome loneliness and isolation. Such a need can be satisfied through communication, manifestations of love and companionship. When it is impossible to establish communication, various forms of narcissism arise as a result of the inability to establish connections.

In creative pursuits

Erich Fromm also believed that despite the social side of a person, each person should be left to himself. In this way, a person is able to develop independently of society.

The need for individuality determines the future fate of a person. Failure to satisfy this need leads to the definition of a person according to a general characteristic - social class, nation, religion.

Involvement in something significant

The need for involvement in something significant allows a person to determine and formulate the direction of thoughts for a clearer perception of the world. The satisfaction of such needs is a person's personal motivations.

In pursuit of the ideal

The need to strive for the ideal can also be characterized as the need to overcome the limitations of one's own existence. Satisfaction of this need allows a person to become a creator, to be active. The downside is the need for self-destruction.

In awareness of the surrounding space

The need for awareness of the surrounding space is characterized by the rupture of natural (family) ties and the search for new interpersonal relationships, protection. These types of needs are described in Fromm's work "Healthy Society" and are singled out by him as specific human needs.

A need is a state of psychological or functional lack of something. There are a lot of types of needs - they depend on many factors, for example, human nature, time, environmental influences. Several psychologists have succeeded in psychology, who have defined their own classification of human needs - Abraham Maslow and Erich Fromm.

Maslow Needs Videos

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